Japan's stock market was closed for a holiday, but several other Asian markets were moving higher early Wednesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 1.8%, while South Korea's Kospi was up 1.4% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was up 1.2%. The dollar rose against the yen but fell against the euro in early Asian trading.

If U.S. stocks rise Wednesday, that would add to a New Year's Eve rally that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average gain 166.03 points, or 1.3%, as the Senate inched toward a deal. It was the largest point gain on the final day of the year in the average's history. Major global markets were closed Tuesday.

But the joy may be short-lived. Investors are already looking ahead to the next battles on the legislative calendar, including debates on the federal budget, preprogrammed spending cuts and the debt ceiling, which limits the government's ability to borrow— all in the next few months.

"Even if the market decides to rally in the short term, how far can you reasonably go before you have to deal with this again?" said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG LLC, a New York brokerage, who spent the Tuesday holiday monitoring the latest political developments from home.

For many investors, the relatively narrow scope of the congressional compromise virtually ensures continued political turmoil.

For months, investors had hoped politicians would be able to strike a "grand bargain" that would set tax and spending policy for the next decade.

But those high hopes gradually gave way to smaller ambitions.

On the eve of the Dec. 31 deadline, investors were seemingly content with any deal to at least avert the immediate consequences of going over the fiscal cliff.

"It reached the point that the market was basically saying, 'Do something—anything—to make this go away,'" said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at
Prudential Financial
.

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The smaller deal leaves many of the bigger questions over the deficit and taxes unresolved, prolonging uncertainty for investors.

If there is any consolation, Ms. Krosby said that many in the market have grown inured to the political volatility, managing their investments to minimize damage in the event of either outcome. "Traders and portfolio managers are going into this hedged—they know this could go either way," Ms. Krosby said.

ENLARGE

Traders wore "2013" glasses on the final trading day of the year.
Associated Press

In corporate movers from Monday's session, shares of
Duff & Phelps
climbed 20% after the firm agreed to be acquired by a private investor consortium for about $665.5 million.

Shares of
Facebook
advanced 2.7% after an analyst at BMO, an underwriter of the firm's initial public offering, upgraded the stock and more than doubled its price target.

Netflix
rose 3.7% after
Amazon
's
Web Services business issued an apology for disrupting the online movie-streaming service on Dec. 24. rose 3.7% after Amazon's Web Services business issued an apology for disrupting the online movie-streaming service on Dec. 24.

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